Dragonfire
by enchantedplatypus
Summary: Charlie's days as Dragon Keeper are over, thanks to a serious onthejob injury. Now, he patrols the Dragon Sanctuary, working to keep poachers out. When he uncovers a plot to use the dragons to aid Voldemort, he must stop it before it's too late.
1. End of the dream

**A/N: I thought Charlie could use a little fanfic lovin', since for the most part everyone ignores him. Sorry about how short the chapter is...**

**Disclaimer: I am naught but a poor high school student with too much time on her hands...don't sue me. If it sounds familiar, it's not mine.

* * *

There was nothing he could have done.**

There were certain risks associated with this job, everyone knew that. When you were working in close proximity to something as lethal and unpredictable as a dragon, well, you had to know what could happen.

He could still see the beast charging him, feel its hot, rancid breath on his face, feel the agony of the dragon's claws shredding his leg…It had been one of his favorite dragons, a massive male Opaleye with only half a left ear and a red spot on its throat. Dragon A379, affectionately known as Albert. The dragon that ended his career as a Dragon Keeper.

Charlie winced and gingerly sat up in his bed. He had been stuck in the Infirmary for two weeks so far, while an overworked Healer poured foul-smelling potions down his throat and frowned at his leg. The cuts had been deep and had gotten infected, as injuries caused by dragons are wont to do, so now his left leg looked more like a Christmas decoration—a lovely combination of red and green—than a limb. His friends, other Keepers who wore the telltale scars and burns of people who work closely with dragons, had visited him in the first few days after his accident. After a week, the stream of visitors had been reduced to more of a trickle, and it had been four days since anyone besides the Healer had been to see him. They had told him how lucky he was that the brute hadn't used fire, or that he should be grateful that it only got one leg before they had managed to stun it. But, oddly enough, Charlie didn't feel lucky or grateful. He felt betrayed. A dragon who had been familiar with him, maybe even friendly, had turned on him and had stolen his dream with a few swiped of its claws. He knew it was stupid to feel this way—dragons were never friendly with humans, no matter what Hagrid might have thought. But there was almost no chance of ever going back to work as a Keeper. Even if he escaped having a limp for the rest of his life, his leg wouldn't be able to maneuver with the speed and strength that was required for handling dragons.

Charlie sighed and stared moodily at his heavily bandaged leg. If he was lucky, he would get reassigned, probably filing papers at the godforsaken Sanctuary Administration Building. He would be miserable, but at least he would have a job and he could sneak out to see his dragons whenever he had the time. If he was unlucky, they would quietly dismiss him and he would wind up penniless and living with his parents again.

The arrival of the overworked Healer to check his bandages brought him out of his reverie. She was young, extremely thin, and even more harried-looking than usual.

"Dragons have been restless," she said in explanation of her stained robes and the dark circles under her eyes. Charlie nodded knowingly. When the dragons were restless, people got burned, bitten, and clawed. There had definitely been an influx of patients in the last few days.

"So, erm….have you heard from your family lately?" the Healer inquired awkwardly as she gently peeled back the gauze on his leg. Charlie watched her carefully study the wounds, frown yet again, and make a note on the chart she carried before replying.

"Yeah. My mum's been worried sick…I think she writes about three times a day, but only sends the letters once a week because the owl had trouble with the cold. She'd send me a Howler for sure if I didn't write her just as many times." The Healer poured a deep purple liquid into a glass, added three drops of a fluorescent green potion, and stireed the mixture gently as he talked.

"Not that there's much to write about. 'Dear Mum, drank all my potions and didn't swear at the Healer when she put that stinging stuff on my leg,' that sort of thing," he continued.

The witch smiled tensely and made another mark on her chart.

"Your leg is still not healing as fast as I'd like, but it's finally showing some improvement. You might be able to get out of here as soon as next Thursday, if you're lucky," she said quickly, before running off to tend to a man who looked like he'd had half his face burned off.

Charlie collapsed against the pillows, resigned to another week of boredom and idleness. He had come all the way from Ottery St. Catchpole to the Carpathian Mountains of Romania to work with the dragons at the Carpathian International Dragon Sanctuary, not to sit in bed. He had been fascinated with the graceful and deadly creatures ever since he had first seen a drawing of a Welsh Green in one of his brother Bill's picture books at the age of six. The dragons entranced him…how impossible it seemed that something that large could fly, that a living creature could breathe fire…All he had ever wanted to do was to live among these majestic, terrifying creatures.

He sighed again and reached for the heavy leather-bound book on his nightstand. Well, he had lived his dream for three years. He had known that it was highly probable that he would be horribly injured at some point on the job, but he had thought that it would be when he was getting older and losing his dexterity and reaction time. Three years had not been enough to satisfy his need to be with the dragons. But then again, he thought as he opened "Men Who Love Dragons Too Much" to page 67, he would never be able to satisfy that need. The dragons were as much a part of him as having red hair and six siblings was.

* * *

**There you have it. Please REVIEW. It's not that hard...just click the button, type something, and you've made my day!**


	2. Archimedes Baldwin

**A/N: I felt bad about how short the first chapter was, so here's the second chapter, which is even shorter. It's kind of blah, but we'll be getting to the good stuff soon, I promise.**

**Disclaimer: Not JKR, Not Warner Bros, not anyone. Not mine. Don't sue me.**

* * *

Charlie had been dreading this moment for the past three weeks. When the dragon had clawed him, he hadn't been worried about whether or not he would have horrible scars on his leg or whether he would even survive. All he wanted to know was whether or not they would give him his job back. He knew that the outlook was not good. Dragon Keepers had to be in excellent shape in order to deal with creatures that could easily kill an entire squad if they got angry. Charlie stopped to straighten his tie and flatten his flaming red hair before crutching into the office of Archimedes Baldwin, the man who held Charlie's future in his hands.

Baldwin's office was definitely a reflection of his persona. He was a meticulous, slightly crazed perfectionist, who almost worshipped the dragons. Whenever he spoke of them, his eyes went out of focus. For Archimedes Baldwin, dragons were his true love. Charlie could sympathize, although he preferred to call what he felt for the dragons 'passion' instead of 'true love.' The room was perfectly clean and devoid of all typical office clutter. There were no stacks of paper on the desk, no pictures of family members in mismatched frames, no balding quills and bent paperclips. The only evidence that someone even used the room were the huge and slightly frightening pictures of dragons that covered every inch of the walls. As Charlie entered, the picture of a Hebridean Black glared as the portrait of a Pervuian Vipertooth blew smoke rings at him.

"Ah, young Mr. Weasley," said Baldwin, not looking up from the model of a Chinese Fireball he was painting. "Do come in and take a seat." Once Charlie had maneuvered himself into the chair and rested his crutches against a picture of three Hungarian Horntails, Baldwin finally looked up.

"I believe we are here to discuss the implications of your recent injuries on your future with the Carpathian International Dragon Sanctuary," he said as he pushed the model dragon to the other end of his desk. Charlie nodded mutely. He was worried that he might vomit if he opened his mouth.

"I have a note here from Healer MacLean that you have shown significant progress since you were first brought to the infirmary on October the 2nd," Baldwin continued. Charlie looked at his hands and noticed that his palms were sweating profusely. Just get on with it, he thought desperately.

"You have an excellent record. Your supervisor has nothing but good things to say about your work so far. However…." Charlie stopped breathing. This was it…this was the moment he found out if he would be back with his dragons or back with his parents.

"…it is doubtful that you would be able to perform at the level required to be a Keeper after sustaining such a serious injury."

Charlie closed his eyes. It was over.

"Given your excellent work here preceding your injury, and the progress you have made so far with your recovery, you will be joining Patrol 17 once you make a full recovery."

Charlie opened his eyes in disbelief. Patrol…he hadn't even considered that a possibility! Making sure the dragons stayed in and the poachers stayed out...he felt like dancing, although it would certainly be hazardous in his present condition. He would still be able to be with the dragons!

"Thank you…thank you so much," Charlie spluttered. Baldwin smiled.

"It would have been a shame to take the dragons away from you," he said, and resumed painting his dragon model.

* * *

**Please motivate me to writea lot more by REVIEWING!**


	3. I Hope You've All Made Friends

**A/N: I'm sorry this took so long...the stupid Document Manager thing broke and I couldn't upload anything...hopefully I'll be able to get Chapter Four up sooner. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed: Kate, Beth Pryor, and karniverous pineapple! Here's another chapter for you all.**

**Kate: I'm glad you liked it so far! Thanks for being my first reviewer!**

**Beth Pryor: Yay! Another Charlie fan! He is definitely neglected both in the fan fiction world and in the actual books…we must speak to Jo about this serious oversight!**

**Karniverous pineapple: Thanks for motivating me! Nice username by the way…**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, but probably not yours either. **

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When the alarm clock went off at 4: 24, Charlie leaped out of his bed with so much gusto he smashed his head against the bottom of the top bunk. Gregory, his roommate, grunted indignantly, rolled over, and continued snoring. Even though he was still seeing stars from the blow, Charlie thought he would burst from excitement. After weeks of painful rehabilitation and tedious exercises to strengthen his leg, he had finally been deemed healthy enough to start as a Patrolman. He could barely tie his shoe laces, his hands were shaking so much. He was finally returning to where he belonged.

Charlie made sure that Gregory was fully conscious before stepping outside. Immediately, he was glad that he had thought to dress warmly—it was mid-November, and winter came early up in the mountains. He took a moment to take in the beautiful view of the mountains before starting up the path toward the Patrol headquarters, where he would be briefed about his new assignment. He thought wistfully back to his first day as a Keeper. He had felt invincible at that moment, when he got to work with a real dragon for the first time.

"Huh. Like that was anywhere close to the truth," he said to himself, trying not to think about his leg.

"That's not normal," said a vaguely familiar voice in his ear. Charlie jumped with alarm.

"Merlin! You can't sneak up on people like that!" he exclaimed angrily, drawing his wand and whirling around to face his new enemy.

"Well, I guess we're both abnormal, then. You talk to yourself, and I sneak up on people," replied the witch who was responsible for the incident. Charlie stared at her for a second, trying to place her familiar face. She was tiny…not much over 5 feet tall and barely 100 pounds, with unruly brown hair that was escaping from the tight braid that hung down her back.

"Staring is also not normal," she said, raising an eyebrow.

Charlie could the blood rushing to his face.

"No…I was just…just trying to figure out where I know you from," he stammered. "Er…I didn't catch your name."

"I didn't say it. Nina Galbraith," she said, extending a hand. Charlie shook it awkwardly.

"Charlie Weasley," he replied.

"I know." She smiled at the confused expression on his face.

"I was in Ravenclaw, two years behind you," she explained. "I was a chaser on the Quidditch team."

"I remember now! You were the one who nearly knocked Penn Quigley off his broom in the championship match!" Charlie exclaimed. Poor Quigley had never been able to figure out how he had almost been de-broomed by a girl who weighed half as much as him.

"So…what are you doing here?" Nina asked. "I'm starting Patrol today. I wanted to be a Keeper, but the bastards said I was too small." Her face darkened and her hands curled into fists. "I wish I could show them what 'too bloody small' can do to their faces," she muttered.

"I'm starting patrol as well," Charlie answered quietly. Nina looked at him skeptically.

"What, huge bloke like you can't be a Keeper?" she said.

It was Charlie's turn to become upset. Without a word in reply, he stormed up the path. He didn't want some insensitive little girl to be the reason he was late on his first day.

"Wait! Weasley!" Nina called after him. Charlie kept walking, his eyes fixed resolutely ahead.

"WEASLEY!" She yelled in his ear. She had snuck up on him again.

"Dammit! Why do you always do that?" he shouted, rubbing his ear gingerly. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had been bleeding.

"Look, I don't know what I said that made you so angry, but I didn't mean to upset you," she said. "I mean, if you have body image problems or something…"

"That's not funny," Charlie snapped.

"Well, would you care to explain why suddenly you go from staring at my chest to biting my head off?" she replied defensively.

"I WAS NOT STARING AT YOUR CHEST!" Charlie bellowed. A few people who were coming up the path behind them stopped and stared.

"Move along, now!" he yelled at them, motioning up the path. Catching a glance at his watch, he swore under his breath. He had 20 seconds to make it to his Orientation. Sending Nina one last death glare, he jogged up the path as fast as his leg would allow him to.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After arriving at Patrol Headquarters, Charlie had been reprimanded for his tardiness, been given at least fifty pamphlets with pictures of smiling wizards and witches on them and titles like, "What Patrolling Can Do For You," and "A Future in Magical Security." According to the packet they had given him, he was to be with Patrol 17. Charlie glanced at the map of the area they would be covering---lots of mountains, no surprises there---and then found the page that listed his Crew.

"Henry Kendrick….Hadrian Ainsley….Simon Pellegrin...Charlie Weasley….Nina Galbraith," he read aloud. Then he did a double-take. "Nina Galbraith!" he exclaimed. It wasn't possible. But there was her name, right under his. Charlie closed his eyes in despair. He did feel a little guilty about the way he had treated her back there on the path, but she had been so obnoxious.

A stocky wizard with a large graying mustache came forward to address the gathered crowd of new Patrolmen.

"In a few moments, you will be joining your Crews," he said enthusiastically. "All of the Crews have at least two experienced members to show you the ropes. All of the information you need is in the packets you were given when you arrived. However, before we begin another season of successful patrolling, I must go over some safety guidelines…"

Charlie wasn't really paying attention. He was busy scanning the room for familiar faces. Everyone was either from the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, or Australia…people from other countries were in various other buildings. There had to be at least one other person he had gone to Hogwarts with...but the only person who looked remotely familiar was Nina Galbraith, and he was planning on avoiding her for as long as possible.

"Now, I want to you go and find your new crews!" the wizard said brightly. "You'll meet the other new members in your crew now. The others are waiting outside." With a flick of his wand, golden numbers appeared around the room. Charlie sighed and headed for the large "17" that was floating in the front left corner. This wasn't going to turn out well.

Unfortunately for Charlie, the only person who was standing under the "17" was Nina Galbraith.

"Of course," he muttered to himself when he saw her there. "Hopefully the other three aren't completely off their rockers as well."

"Oh," said Nina aloofly as he approached. "You."

"Look, I didn't ask to be assigned to the same patrol as you," he said indignantly.

"First they say I'm too small to be a Keeper, then they assign me to a patrol with a pervert who talks to himself," she grumbled.

"_You're_ talking to yourself now," Charlie said pointedly.

"Are we all properly introduced now?" said the mustachioed wizard. "I hope you've all made friends!" Both Nina and Charlie rolled their eyes at this. "Now it's time to meet the other members of your crew. They're waiting outside, and once you've been introduced you can begin! Good luck!"

Resolutely ignoring each other, Nina and Charlie headed for the exits.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**There you have it! Sorry about the ooooooo things, it wouldn't let me put in the usual lines.**

**PLEASE REVIEW! **


	4. Enchanted Snow

**A/N: Here's Chapter Four. I'm not sure I should even bother posting it, since sooooo many people reviewed the last chapter. (Ie, No one.) If you read, please review as well. It'll only take a second…click on the little button and type in a few words. It'll make my day.**

**Disclaimer: I'm just a bored high school student who has no life, so I'm definitely not JKR or anyone from Warner Bros. Please don't sue me.**

* * *

Light snow flurries were falling gently as Charlie and Nina looked for the three members of their Crew they hadn't yet met. Nina walked a few paces ahead of him, pretending that he didn't exist. This was perfectly fine with Charlie. The way things between them were going so far, they would probably end up strangling each other if they had too much contact. 

"Oy! You there! Are you Charlie Weasley and Nina Galbraith?" cried a voice to his left.

Charlie turned and found himself facing a trio of wizards, all dressed in heavy boots and overcoats.

"Crew 17?" he inquired. A dour-looking man on the left nodded.

"We've been searching for you lot for a quarter of an hour," said Nina huffed.

"Well, it's not like we've been hiding, is it?" the man in the center, a sandy-haired Australian, replied with a grin. "Been standing here for close to an hour, and you two walk right by us. Good thing everyone knows 'bout Weasley, or we'd all still be looking." Charlie gave him an odd look. What did he mean, 'everyone knows 'bout Weasley?'

"Well now, we'd best get introduced properly, or we'll be the last crew to leave," he continued. "I'm Henry Kendrick. This bundle of joy here," he said, gesturing at the tall, dark man on the left, "Is Hadrian Ainsley. He's got absolutely no sense of humor and is a little jinx-happy, so I'd leave him alone if I were you." Ainsley scowled in response.

"I'm Simon Pellegrin," said the man on the right, waving. His had a pointed face and brown, curly hair that frizzed around his head like a halo.

"Right then. We'd best be off, before our delightful supervisor hexes us into oblivion," said Henry with a grin. "We'll be walking to our assigned area today. It's a good distance, but we don't want you apparating when you've never been there before."

What an odd group, thought Charlie as they set off down the trail. Henry reminded him a bit of Fred and George, acting like everything was a joke. Hadrian, on the other hand, seemed so serious. With Nina and him already at odds, it would be interesting to see if the crew could manage to work together at all.

* * *

It didn't take long for his leg to start acting up again. His once sturdy limb did not take kindly to the cold or the terrain, and before long he found himself fighting not to hobble like an old woman. He was not the only one struggling. The wind was picking up, and Nina, with her tiny frame, was fighting a losing battle to stay upright. The unlikely duo brought up the rear of the patrol, muttering a chorus of curse words as Nina was nearly knocked over yet again by a strong gust and Charlie's leg throbbed painfully. 

"At this rate, it'll take a month to finish one round," Nina grumbled as she narrowly avoided being thrown down a ravine.

"Just be glad it's stopped snowing for the moment," said Charlie as he begrudgingly helped her to her feet.

"You lot alright back here?" asked Simon, suddenly appearing at their side.

"Yeah, we're just great," snapped Nina, dusting the powdery snow out of her hair. "I'm being blown off the mountain, and Weasley here can't seem to move any faster than my granny."

Simon shot Charlie a look of sympathy.

"If it's too much for you, we can rest a bit," he said softly, his eyes betraying what he knew. Charlie felt himself blushing in humiliation. He'd only been on the job for an hour and already the rest of Patrol thought he was weak.

"I'm fine," he said tersely. "Let's go on, shall we?" Simon shrugged and ran ahead to catch up with the rest of the group.

"What was that about?" Nina asked, her eyes questioning.

"Nothing," Charlie replied angrily, stalking off as fast as his leg would allow.

"Weasley!" she yelled, running to catch up. "Weasley, I might look like a seven-year-old, but I'm not _stupid._ There's something you're not telling me, and since Simon definitely knows what it is, I think it's only fair that you tell me as well."

"Fine!" Charlie shouted. "Fine! You want to know why they sacked me from being a Keeper? You want to know why I hobble around like I'm eighty? This is why!" And with that he forcefully yanked up his pant leg, revealing the telltale signs of the dragon attack.

Nina's face went white at the sight of the livid scars.

"Weasley…" she said quietly. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Charlie opened his mouth to reply, but a particularly strong gust of wind interrupted him. It also knocked Nina completely off her feet, and before he realized what was happening he found himself trapped by his archenemy, who had thrown her arms around his waist to prevent herself from being swept off the mountain. He stared down at her, his mouth open in shock. Nina had her eyes shut tight, as if she was afraid that when she opened them she would see the landscape whizzing by as she fell down the cliff. After a few very long seconds, she opened her eyes, wincing when she realized what exactly she was doing.

"Well…er…this is awkward," she said as she gingerly removed her stranglehold on his hips. Charlie had the overpowering urge to run away.

"Let's…um…not do that again," he said, blushing furiously red. Nina nodded in agreement, ducking her head to hide her own red face. The awkward moment was broken by the sound of Henry shouting,

"Oh ho! Look what we have here!"

Nina and Charlie hurried to catch up with the others, who were clustered around in a circle and muttering excitedly amongst each other.

"What is it?" asked Nina breathlessly.

Hadrian pointed silently to a patch of snow, the dour expression never leaving his face. There was a moment of silence as Charlie and Nina both stared intently at the snowdrift, waiting for it to do something.

"Er…_what _is it?" asked Charlie, wondering if he was somehow missing something.

"Look at that patch of snow, mate. Notice how the snow in other places is being picked up and blown about by the wind? Not one flake of that particular patch of snow is moving," Henry explained. He looked excitedly at the two new recruits, who gazed back with looks of utter confusion on their faces.

"It means that bit of snow's probably been charmed solid so it doesn't show footprints," said Simon. "Look--"

He took out his wand, squinted at the snow, and muttered something under his breath. A stream of blue light erupted from the tip of the wand, turning blood red as it touched the snow.

Hadrian nodded. "Definitely been charmed," he said quietly. "Let's message down to headquarters that we're leaving the Patrol Route and see where this trail will lead us."

Charlie looked around the circle of Patrolmen, noting that Henry was practically shaking with excitement.

"What's the big deal?" he asked the quivering Aussie.

"_What's the big deal?_" he replied in astonishment. "It means that someone's trespassing on dragon territory."

Charlie glanced at the offending patch of snow, still faintly glowing red. A shiver went down his spine. Something about this definitely didn't feel right .

**REVIEW. NOW.**

* * *


End file.
